An Israeli organ trafficking ring which was smashed in South Africa last year
has shifted its operations to China, according to a report in the New York
Times. A 52-year-old Tel Aviv man, Ilan Peri, is alleged to have organised at
least 100 kidney transplants for Israelis. The Times profiled the case of an
American woman from Brooklyn and a Brazilian man from the impoverished city of
Recife in Durban. She paid brokers US$60,000 (a special discount because of
family ties) and he received $6,000 from them. The operation was performed at St
Augustine's Hospital in Durban. This is owned by a private health care chain,
Netcare, which boasts that it aims "to uphold South Africa's reputation as 'the
transplant capital of the world'".

Organ donation rates in Israel are amongst the lowest in the developed world,
partly because of a belief that Jewish religious law forbids it. To relieve the
resulting organ shortage, brokers search for donors overseas for prices which
can soar as high as US$150,000. Some advertise openly on radio stations for
donors and recipients. There is no law in Israel against organ trafficking and
government policy effectively encourages it by allowing Israelis who go abroad
for transplants to be reimbursed as much as $80,000.

In Recife selling kidneys was becoming a popular way of making quick money
before police stepped in. At first the brokers offered $10,000 for a kidney, but
after 18 months the price dropped as low as $3,000. About 100 men volunteered
and 60 ended up making the trip to South Africa. Some of those who spoke to the
Times later had health problems; one was robbed of his money on his way back
home and arrived both broke and kidney-less.

Dr Nancy Scheper-Hughes, of the University of California at Berkeley, a
researcher in international organ trafficking, says that organ trafficking
happens in the US as well, with many larger clinics advertising on the internet
for "transplant tourists".